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Black Lions F.C.
| dissolved = | ground = Marina Park Sports Ground | capacity = 2,000 | owner = | chairman = | manager = | coach = | currentleague = League C | currentposition = | lastseason = | lastleaguec = League C | lastposition = 8th | current = | website = | firstgame = | largestwin = | worstdefeat = | topscorer = | fansgroup = | honours = | American = }} Black Lions Football Club are a semi-professional football club based in West Provost, St. Gregory. The team plays in League C, the third tier of the St. Gregory Football Association. Black Lions are one of St. Gregory's oldest football clubs still in existence, tracing their origins as an amateur club back to 1969, ten years before the foundation of the SGFA. They turned professional in 2005 and were promoted to League B for the first time in 2017 after winning the promotion playoffs; they finished bottom of the table in their maiden League B season and were relegated back to the third division. The club is heavily associated with Rastafari culture and holds strong ties to its roots of representing the Afro-Caribbean population in Provost and other communities in southwestern St. Gregory. For most of their existence, they have played with an almost exclusively black roster, made up predominantly of Afro-Caribbean and African-American players. The team plays its home matches at Marina Park Sports Ground, a small stadium located near the shoreline in West Provost. History Black Lions Football Club was founded in 1969 and played in the non-professional League of Southern St. Gregory (LSSG). They enjoyed their best period in the mid-1980s, winning league titles in 1983-84, 1985-86 and 1986-87. Following the demise of the LSSG in 1990, Black Lions moved to a regional amateur league playing other teams from southern and southwestern St. Gregory before applying to join the SGFA in 2004. The SGFA granted Black Lions admission in 2005, placing them in League C for 2005-06 and elevating them to professional status for the very first time. The Lions remained in the third division for another 12 years until 2016-17 when they finished in fourth place and earned a first-ever berth in the promotion playoffs. They defeated Carlisle Dragons 3-2 on aggregate and then upset Crusaders 3-1 in the final, gaining promotion to the second tier of Gregorian football for the first time in their 48-year history. Unfortunately for the Lions, their maiden League B season in 2017-18 saw the team pick up just three wins – their most famous coming against eventual playoff finishers Otway Town – finishing in last place and suffering relegation back to League C. Colors, crest and nickname The club's name is an homage to the Black Lions, an anti-fascist resistance movement in Ethiopia that fought against occupying Italian forces in World War II. The crest features the Lion of Judah, an important symbol to Ethiopian culture, depicted holding traditional Ethiopian colors of red, yellow and green. Kits Black Lions have played in all black kits for their entire history, and are one of few clubs in St. Gregory to have never had a primary shirt sponsor. The uniforms are currently supplied by RS Teamwear, who took over for the 2015-16 season. Players 'Current squad' : As of July 22, 2019 Note: Players without a flag are from St. Gregory. Players with an asterisk (*) are from outside the United States or its territories, or have represented a non-U.S. territory at international level, but hold either citizenship or permanent residency in the U.S. and thus do not count towards the league cap on foreign players. Former players :Further information: Category:Black Lions F.C. players Category:Club pages Category:Black Lions F.C.